Joseph duffy



J-... DUFFY. Submarine Ordnance.

Patented Sept" 8, 186,3.

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JOSEPH DUFFY, OF PATERSON, NE\V JERSEY.

IMPROVEMENT IN SUBMARINE ORDNANCE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. Eslhfib ll dated September e, 1863.

1'0 (1 whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH DUFFY, of Paterson, in the county of Passaic and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and Improved Submarine Gun; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and eX act description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 represents a longitudinal vertical section of a vessel provided with my subma rine gun ready for action. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central section of the gun detached. Fig. 8 is a detached longitudinal central section of my device for introducing the charge.

Similar letters of reference in the several views indicate corresponding parts.

The object of this invention is to construct a gun which is placed in the bow or any other part of avessel below the water-line, and which is so constructed that the same, on touching a hostile vessel, discharges its contents and pierces said hostile vessel below the water-line and belowthose parts usually protected by iron armor.

The invention consists in the arrangement of a gun projecting from the bow or any other part of a vessel below the water-line, in combination with a hammer and trigger, or their equivalents, in such a manner that when the muzzle of the gun comes in contact with a hostile vessel its charge is exploded and said hostile vessel pierced below the waterline and below those parts which generally are protected by iron armor.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to dcscribe it.

A represents a gun made of iron or brass, or any other suitable material, and provided with trunnions (6 near to its breech. These trunnions have their bearings in journal boxes or wheels I), which fit between slides 13, that are secured in the hold of a vessel, 0, and in such a position that the muzzle of the gun can be pushed out through the bow or side of the vessel. Generally, however, the gun will be so arranged that it projects through the bow, and

in the following description Iwill confine myself to that position of the gun.

When the gun is ready for action, it projects out through an opening in the bow of the yes breech.

sel, and to prevent the entrance of water into the barrel the muzzle is protected by a screwcap, 0, which screws firmly on the end of the barrel, and which is provided with a recess to receive the disk or disks cl, of leather and thin sheet metal or any other material suitable to exclude the water, and not strong enough to offer any perceptible resistance to the progress of the projectile as the same is driven out of the barrel by the explosion of the charge. The cap 0 is provided with a swivel-ring, c, furnished with two holes, so that the same, together with the cap, can be suspended from a suitable hooked fork, and the cap screwed in or out at leisure. The barrel of the gun is perfectly smooth and cylindrical, and it passes through a cast-metal box, D, which is secured to the keel and bow of the vessel, and which forms a stuffing-box to prevent the passage of the water to the interior of the vessel when the gun is ready for action. WVhen the gun is drawn back or recoils, the box D is closed in front by a hinged valve, f, which drops down as soon as the gun recedes, and which is pushed up by the gun itself when the same advance. A second valve, 9, closes the rear of the case D, and this valve is secured to astem, g, and raised by a rope, h, or in any other desirable manner. lVhen the gun advances, the slide-valy e g has to be raised by pulling the rope, and when the gun recoils this valve drops down suddenly and shuts off the opening close behind the receding gun, and the entrance of water is effectually prevented.

The barrel A is bored clear through from end to end, and it is wider at the breech to re ceive the charge-introducer E. This device, a detached view of which is shown in Fig. 3, consists of a tube, It, bored out to correspond to the bore of the gun and turned off to fit closely into the enlarged part of the bore at the A. dog, i, dropping into a notch in the tube 72, retains the same as soon as it has been pushed into the breech of the gun to the desired point, and the charge, which was previously put into the tube, can now be forced into the barrel of the gun by a plunger, j, operatedby a screw, 7t. After the charge has thus been introduced into the gun, the tube It is withdrawn, and the check-block F is inserted. This check-block consists of awedge secured to the under end of a screw, m, by

means of a swivel-joint in such a manner that the screw can be rotated independent of the wedge. A key, 11, projecting from the upper end of the wedgeinto a groove, 0, in the socket, which receives the screw m, prevents said wedge from rotating with the screw. After the check-block is properly secured, the gun is ready to be run out. This operation is or can be facilitated by ropesrunning through loops '19, secured to the sides of the box D, and through other loops, 1), securedto the sides of the gun near to its breech. Before running the gun out, the'hammer g, which is pivoted to the side of the breech, has to be cooked, and

Shel the linis inp sitionia r 1 P j c ing from the side of the I hammer, rests upon force, being acted upon by a spring, 25, and a percussion-cap placed on the nipple o is ex ploded and causes the charge of the gun to go off. By the explosion of the charge the gun recoils, causing its muzzle to pass out of the box D, and the valves f and 9 close. In this position the muzzle of the gun is supported by a two-armed lever, G, which has its fulcrum under the slides B. One arm of the lever is provided with an eccentric disk, w, which can be rotated by a crank or other equivalent de-- vice. By means of this disk the muzzle of the gun can be slightly raised or lowered, to bring it in the correct position to enter the boX'D.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The arrangement of a sliding gun, A, projecting from the bow or side of a vessel, 0, below the water-line, in combination with a hammer, g, and nose 5, or their equivalents, con- ,st u eda p i gi theme ner a d 9 the purpose substantially as herein shown and described.

2. Having the stuffing-box 1) provided at front and rear with valves f g, constructed and 

